


Rabid

by RedShirtWriter34567



Series: Wolf Vs Cat [4]
Category: Jessica Jones (TV), Underworld (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Attack, Blood and Injury, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fever, M/M, Minor Violence, Rabies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedShirtWriter34567/pseuds/RedShirtWriter34567
Summary: Oswald goes missing and while looking for him, Lucian risks his life in the process.
Relationships: Zebediah Killgrave/Lucian (Underworld)
Series: Wolf Vs Cat [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141751
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Rabid

Lucian’s day started out normally enough. He woke up that morning to the sound of his phone alarm, turned it off, but spent the next several minutes sleepily cuddling his husband, who whined when he tried to leave the bed. Lucian chuckled and stroked his husband’s soft, tousled hair. Killgrave nuzzled his bare chest without opening his eyes. 

“Why do you always have to go in so early?” he asked, stroking Lucian’s stomach.

“Part of my new schedule,” Lucian replied. “It’s only for a few more days though.”

Killgrave grumbled and cuddled closer, inhaling his husband’s scent. Lucian stayed until his husband fell asleep once more, then left the bedroom to shower. By the time he returned to the bedroom, Oswald was already on the bed, curled up near Killgrave’s stomach. His green eyes flashed and he growled warningly. Lucian glared but got dressed then leaned over the bed and kissed Killgrave’s hair. Oswald growled but didn’t attack. He always made sure to not to whenever Killgrave was around.

Lucian left the house and drove to Alias. He was both grateful to be away from Oswald but also missed being around his husband. Usually they spent their mornings together, but he’d been helping out Alias and the NYPD with a new case that Lucian thought was especially cruel: an illegal dog fighting ring hidden somewhere in the city, run by several high profile gang members of New York. They had yet to track down an exact location because the fights were moved to different abandoned subway tunnels every week.

Lucian was confident that they were closing in on them though. He couldn’t help but think about his time being a slave to the vampires. Knowing that innocent dogs were being abused and forced to fight for entertainment, that made him incredibly angry. He hoped that once they found the gang leaders, maybe he’d have an excuse to rough them up like they’d done to the dogs, to show them how demeaning it was to be beaten and abused just for cruel gain and blood sport.

As he pulled to a stop outside Alias and entered the building, he had no idea what a turn the day would take. 

A couple hours later, Lucian and Jessica were in the meeting room at Alias, a handful of NYPD and SWAT officers seated at tables in front of them. They were being briefed about the gang members controlling the dog fighting ring, how dangerous they were. Jessica was telling them about the last location they’d been spotted when Lucian felt his cellphone vibrating urgently in his jacket pocket. He turned away and examined the screen. It was Killgrave. Lucian raised his eyebrows. His husband usually refrained calling him at work unless he needed to.

“Kevin?” Lucian asked quietly, holding the phone against his ear. “What’s going on, my love?”

“It’s Oswald,” Killgrave explained, sounding worried. “He’s missing.”

“What do you mean he’s missing?” Lucian asked.

Killgrave sighed. “I left the backdoor open and he must have gotten outside. I looked all over the yard and called his name but I can’t find him anywhere. I can’t even smell him. I think he must be in the woods somewhere.”

Lucian sighed. As much as he detested that cat, he loved his husband and knew having Oswald around made him happy. 

“I’ll come home and help you look for him,” he told Killgrave. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you, love,” Killgrave replied.

He hung up and Lucian pocketed his phone, noticing Jessica looking at him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Oswald’s missing,” Lucian explained. “Killgrave’s worried he’s lost in the woods behind our home so I told him I’d come help for him.”

“Go,” Jessica told him. “Me and the NYPD can go investigate the subway tunnel in Long Island.”

Lucian nodded and swept out of the room. He got into his car and drove back home quickly, arriving in about ten minutes. He entered the house and found Killgrave still out in the backyard, pacing around anxiously. He looked up and smiled when he saw Lucian stepping out onto the back porch. 

“Thanks for coming, love,” he said. 

“Of course,” Lucian replied. “Let’s go see if we can find Oswald. Surely he can’t have gotten far.”

“I hope you’re right,” Killgrave said.

They left the yard and entered the woods behind the house. The air was full of so many scents and sounds that it made focusing on Oswald’s scent difficult even when Lucian focused. He and Killgrave called Oswald’s name as they walked, checking bushes and scanning the ground carefully. Lucian inhaled and caught the scent of something...unfamiliar, something that didn’t belong in the woods. 

“I think I’ve got something,” he told Killgrave. “Wait here.”

“Are you sure?” Killgrave asked. “Even when you find Oswald, what if he attacks you again?”  
“There’s something else out here,” Lucian said. “Something dangerous. Wait here, my love. I’ll be back, I promise.”

“Okay,” Killgrave said. “Just be careful, love.”

Lucian nodded and set off deeper into the trees. He walked briskly and it wasn’t long before he heard it: the familiar sound of Oswald’s meowing. Lucian headed in the direction it was coming from, also aware that the danger he was sensing felt closer as well. The meowing grew louder as he reached a large, towering tree. 

“Oswald?” Lucian called. “Are you here?”

He heard another meow, above him, and looked up. Oswald was up the tree, sitting upon a thick branch, eyes wide and flashing, his tail flicking side to side. Lucian sighed and approached the tree. 

“There you are,” he said. “What are you doing up there?”

Oswald growled. Lucian shook his head and began to climb the tree, finding footholds in the rough bark as he pulled himself up. He reached the branch Oswald was on and shook his hair off his face. Oswald watched him carefully. 

“Come on now,” Lucian said. “I’m trying to help you, so please do not make this difficult.”

He reached toward Oswald and the cat growled lowly, the fur along his back standing up. He seemed agitated, more so than usual when Lucian was around. The lycan frowned.

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked.

Oswald’s eyes gleamed before he stepped closer, allowing Lucian to pick him up gently from the scruff of his neck. The lycan cradled the cat in his arms as he slowly jumped down from the tree, back down onto the grass. Oswald suddenly tensed up and hissed, startling Lucian.

“That wasn’t so hard,” he said. “What are you hissing at?”

The words had barely left his lips before he heard the snarling. An enormous black-and-grey pit bull burst from the bushes nearby, lips peeled back, sharp teeth exposed, muscles rippling beneath its matted fur. A red number 13 had been spray-painted onto its left side. Another pit bull, brown and white, appeared, also marked with the number 13. Oswald hissed in Lucian’s arms. The lycan growled back at the dogs, hoping to scare them off, but they were closing in.

As the black one lunged, Lucian quickly dropped Oswald and the cat stared at him.

“Run!” Lucian shouted. “Hide, get out of here!”

The black pit bull pounced and knocked Lucian onto the ground. They rolled across the grass, growling and snarling, the lycan’s jacket getting lost in the struggle. Lucian changed forms as they did and sank his teeth into the pit bull’s right front leg. The dog yelped but retaliated, scratching Lucian across his muzzle. The lycan snarled in pain and threw the dog off himself. The brown suddenly leapt onto his back, jaws closing down on his throat. Lucian howled as the black one attacked again, sinking its teeth into Lucian’s left back leg.

The lycan buckled and threw the brown pit bull to the ground, feeling blood running down his throat. Foam frothed from both dogs’ mouths as they circled him. They both lunged toward him but Lucian stood up on his hind legs and howled. The dogs froze, as though they realized that Lucian wasn’t just another ordinary dog. They ran away whimpering and Lucian fell to his knees, panting. He changed forms and found himself naked and bleeding from multiple wounds. 

Blood oozed from deep bites on his shoulder and his throat. Long scratches slashed across his face, parallel with his jaw. His left leg was mangled and bloody, torn muscles exposed. He felt sick and weak. He laid down on the grass, panting and coughing blood. He heard a small meow and Oswald suddenly appeared from wherever he’d been hiding. He rushed to Lucian, meowing and pacing around next to him. 

“Let’s get you back to Kevin,” Lucian said.

He slowly tried to stand up, his whole body screaming in protest. Oswald darted away and came back quickly, dragging Lucian’s jacket with him. His other clothes were in torn remnants all over the grass. Lucian tried to put it back on but he felt so weak. He collapsed back down onto the grass. Oswald moaned and stood next to him, pupils wide. He suddenly took off, collar jingling as he vanished from view. Lucian sighed and closed his eyes, feeling suddenly tired. The next thing he knew however, as hearing Killgrave and Susan calling his name.

He opened his eyes and tried to call out to them, but his body hurt too much and his mouth felt dry as sand. Their voices grew closer and then they appeared, Oswald in front of them.

“Lucian,” Killgrave exclaimed. “Oh, my God!”

He and Susan rushed toward him. His wounds were struggling to heal and were still bleeding. 

“What happened, love?” Killgrave asked. “Can you hear me?”

“I was attacked by these dogs,” Lucian rasped. “I think they belonged to the gang member Jessica and I had been trying to find. They had the number 13 on their fur. I scared them off.” He coughed and blood speckled his lips.

Susan put her hand on his forehead and frowned. “You have a fever, child. Were those animals rabid?”

“I think they were,” Lucian agreed. 

“Is that bad?” Killgrave asked. “Does rabies even affect lycans?”

“Not entirely, but it can make them sick,” Susan said. “I think it’s already setting in. That’s why Lucian’s wounds aren’t healing. His body is trying to fight the rabies.”

“Let’s get you out of here,” Killgrave said. “Quickly.”

Together, he and Susan helped Lucian up off the ground and led him back to the house. Killgrave laid him down on their bed while Susan grabbed the first-aid kit from the bathroom. She expertly dressed the wounds on Lucian’s shoulder and his leg, covering them in antibacterial gel and binding them with gauze. She cleaned his other smaller wounds with warm water and patted them gently dry. Lucian’s body burned with fever and his muscles ached, his bones feeling like they were being boiled.

“He needs to rest,” Susan said. “His body will spend the next several days fighting off the rabies.”

“Thank you, Susan,” Killgrave said. “I’ll look after him for now.”

Susan nodded and left. Killgrave pulled the duvet over Lucian’s body and stroked his husband’s sweaty hair, patting his face with a cold cloth. Suddenly, the bedroom door was pushed open and Oswald appeared, jumping up onto the bed. He walked alongside Lucian and butted his head against his bandaged shoulder, purring a little. 

“I think he’s saying thank you,” Killgrave said.

Lucian held a hand out and Oswald rubbed against it. “You’re welcome,” Lucian said before falling asleep.

Oswald curled up next him, near his head, purring loudly.


End file.
